[gaweidert]

Not a fan of private equity firms. I'll leave it at that. Sad to see Olympus Cameras going this way.


On a positive note, B&H has a killer deal going on for the OM-D EM-1X and three pro lenses for $5,800 US. That is $3,000 of list for the same stuff. I have to admit that I am really tempted as one of the lenses is the 300mm f4.0.

[Lord Lucan]

Olympus is the only brand name I think the rubes would recognize--Zuiko would only trigger a "huh?".

To me, it sounds like a WW2 Japanese aircraft carrier : Japanese aircraft carrier Zuih? - Wikipedia

[Mistral75]

The name Zuiko has more meaning for Japanese-speaking people than for us Westerners.

Zuiko (瑞光) means 'Light of the Gods'. The name combines the first and third characters from the Mizuho Optic Research Laboratory (瑞穂光学研究所), where the first Olympus(1) camera lens was developed in 1936.


(1) Takachiho Corporation (高千穂製作所) at the time. Takachiho stands for a mountain in Japan, on the summit of which, according to Japanese mythology, the gods live, thus similar to mount Olympus in Greek mythology. The name Olympus was first introduced in 1921 as a brand name and from 1949 as the official company name. Indeed, as Takachiho Corp. expanded internationally, the name Olympus was favoured since this term was better known outside Japan.

[luftfluss]

I saw this posted on another site...

[bobmaxja]

Private equity say that all the time went they buy but... in 6 months, when they see the real number, the exe will go very very deep

[carlb]

Private equity say that all the time went they buy but... in 6 months, when they see the real number, the exe will go very very deep

Yep, sounds like standard private equity PR talk. Everything is hunky-dory for the first 12 months or so, then the axe comes out. My advice FWIW is never to invest in an IPO of anything that is put up by a Private Equity firm.

[Rondec]

I saw this posted on another site...

I'm not so encouraged. Feels like wishful thinking. I've been part of organizations that have been taken over by bigger companies and we were always guaranteed that thing would get better and people wouldn't lose jobs, etc. The reality was that within a few months everything was changing.

As Mistral75 said, if JIP is truly interested in making cameras, it would be the first time that they have decided to start producing things rather than just breaking up and selling the company.

I'd like to see Olympus continue on, I just don't imagine that JIP is interested in sinking a bunch of money into a camera brand. I also can't imagine if there was some other company (like Ricoh) that was interested in continuing the camera brand that Olympus would have chosen JIP as a purchaser.

[Mistral75]

(...) I also can't imagine if there was some other company (like Ricoh) that was interested in continuing the camera brand that Olympus would have chosen JIP as a purchaser.

Kimio Tanaka answered that. He wrote that, a couple of years ago, Olympus approached various camera companies with a view to selling Imaging. Nobody was interested. Olympus therefore decided to keep their Imaging business even though it was making losses. Further down the road (Tanaka-san doesn't say so, but one can suppose that ValueAct Capital kept on urging/demanding Olympus management to find a solution), Olympus came to term with selling Imaging to their 'cousins' JIP (same keiretsu), to whom they sold their mobile phone retail business back in 2012.

Olympus sells telecoms unit ITX for Y53bn | Financial Times

Note the oddly high price then paid by JIP for a loss-making retail business. This might have been a 'friendly contribution' to the funding and balance sheet restoration Olympus was in dire need of in 2012. Sony took their share of the burden by subscribing to a dedicated increase in Olympus's capital.

Again, remember that Olympus, JIP and Sony belong to the same keiretsu.

[Rondec]

Kimio Tanaka answered that. He wrote that, a couple of years ago, Olympus approached various camera companies with a view to selling Imaging. Nobody was interested. Olympus therefore decided to keep their Imaging business even though it was making losses. Further down the road (Tanaka-san doesn't say so, but one can suppose that ValueAct Capital kept on urging/demanding Olympus management to find a solution), Olympus came to term with selling Imaging to their 'cousins' JIP (same keiretsu), to whom they sold their mobile phone retail business back in 2012.

Olympus sells telecoms unit ITX for Y53bn | Financial Times

Note the oddly high price then paid by JIP for a loss-making retail business. This might have been a 'friendly contribution' to the funding and balance sheet restoration Olympus was in dire need of in 2012. Sony took their share of the burden by subscribing to a dedicated increase in Olympus's capital.

Again, remember that Olympus, JIP and Sony belong to the same keiretsu.

It is clear that JIP is about money making from the Olympus acquisition. One option is to fix underlying issues, slash costs, and release better cameras into the market and over the next ten years turn things around. The other option is to gut the company, mine it for whatever they think they can and to sell off parts of it, including the patents.

Unfortunately, knowing what i know about businesses it feels like the second option is more likely.

[luftfluss]

Oly just released their updated lens roadmap...




They are also claiming "bird subject detection" firmware upgrade for the E-M1X will be released later this year.

[Paul the Sunman]

Oly just released their updated lens roadmap...


They are also claiming "bird subject detection" firmware upgrade for the E-M1X will be released tater this year.

Time to jump to Olympus? Good looking lineup, especially if you believe the "future lenses".

Actually, just dragged my OM1 out of the cupboard yesterday. Must get some film. Beautifully made camera.

[surfar]

if you believe the "future lenses".

Pro 150-400 f4.5 with built in TC that makes it a 180-500 f5.6 when its switched on.FOV of 1000mm.Its coming this year probably.

Align it with the 12/40...40/150 f2.8s and thats a great kit.Add a few primes if required.[COLOR="Silver"]

[Lord Lucan]

Oly just released their updated lens roadmap...

I think we should attach more importance to JIP's lens roadmap - if there is one, which I very much doubt. Olympus will have no say in it after this December if things go as planned.

[Rondec]

Oly just released their updated lens roadmap...




They are also claiming "bird subject detection" firmware upgrade for the E-M1X will be released tater this year.

Do you really think JIP is going to continue releasing gear at a similar to rate as in the past with the knowledge that Olympus has lost money just about every year for the last decade?

At the very least, things are going to be slowed down.

I still remember after Hoya's purchase of Pentax, in which Hoya was primarily interested in the medical aspect of Pentax, but everything slowed way down on the imaging side and it became pretty clear that Hoya was treading water, hoping to unload the imaging side on another company.

[Lord Lucan]

I still remember after Hoya's purchase of Pentax .... everything slowed way down on the imaging side and it became pretty clear that Hoya was treading water, hoping to unload the imaging side on another company.

And yet Hoya were an optical company. JIP are not even that, they are just accountants.